Office of Vespers for the Preservation of Creation

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Composed on the Holy Mountain by Monk Gerasimos
of the Skete of Saint Anne. Hymn writer of the Great Church
of Christ (+1991).

Translated into English by Archimandrite
Ephrem (Lash).

D = Deacon
P = Priest
B = Bishop
C = Choir
R = Reader
A = All

(P) Blessed is our God, now and ever and to the ages of ages.

(C) Amen.

(A) O Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit
of truth, present in all places and filling all things; treasury
of good things and giver of life, come and dwell in us and
purify us from every stain, and of your goodness save our
souls.(All) Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy
on us. (3 times)Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.Most
Holy Trinity, have mercy upon us. O Lord, cleanse us from
our sins.O Master, pardon our iniquities.O Holy One, visit
and heal our infirmities for thy Name's sake. Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.Glory be to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the
ages of ages. Amen.Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed
be thy Name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever,
and to the ages of ages. Amen.Lord have mercy (12 times).

(R) O come let us worship and bow down
to our King and God.

O come let us worship and bow down to Christ,
our King and God.O come let us worship and bow down before
Christ himself, our King and our God.(Psalm of Preparation)Bless
the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You
are clothed with honour and majesty, wrapped in light as with
a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, you set
the beams ofyour chambers on the waters, you make the clouds
your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make
the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.
You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never
be shaken. You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the
waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound ofyour thunder they take to flight. They rose
up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place
that you appointed for them. You set a boundary that they
may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between
the hills, giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses
quench their thirst. By the streams the birds of the air have
their habitation; they sing among the branches. From your
lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied
with the fruit of your work. You cause the grass to grow for
the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food
from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to
make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of
Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in the fir trees. The high mountains
are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows
its time for setting. You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. The
young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens.
People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.O
Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made
them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the
sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great. There go the ships, and
Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. These all look to
you to give them their food in due season; when you give to
them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are
filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are
dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return
to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the
Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works -who
looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains
and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation
be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Let sinners
be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord! O Lord, how manifold
are thy works! In wisdom have you made them all.Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever
and to the ages of ages Amen.Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia,
Glory to you, our God.Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Glory
to you, our God.Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Glory to you,
our hope, 0 Lord, glory to you.

(D) In peace let us pray to the Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) For the peace that is from above and
for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) For peace in the world, for the stability
of the holy churches of God, and for the unity of all, let
us pray to the Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) For our Metropolitan / Archbishop /
Bishop (N.), the honourable presbyters, the deacons in the
service of Christ, and all the clergy and people, let us pray
to the Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) For this city, for every city and country,
and for the faithful who live in them, let us pray to the
Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) For favourable weather, an abundance
of the fruits of the earth, and temperate seaons, let us pray
to the Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) For travellers by land, sea and air,
for the sick, the suffering, the captives and for their salvation,
let us pray to the Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) For our deliverance from all affliction,
wrath, danger and distress, let us pray to the Lord.

(D) Remembering our most holy, pure blessed,
and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and ever virgin Mary,
with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another
and our whole life to Christ our God.

(A) To you O Lord.

(P) Lord, our God, whose power is beyond
compare, and glory is beyond understanding; whose mercy is
boundless, and love for us is ineffable: look upon us and
upon this holy house in Your compassion. Grant to us and to
those who pray with us Your abundant mercy.

(D) For to You belong all glory, honour
and worship to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and ever and to the ages of ages.

(C) Amen.

Tone 1

(C) O Lord, I have cried out to you, hear
me, O Lord. Lord I have cried out to you, hear me, give heed
to the voice of my prayer. When I cry out to you, hear me,
O Lord.

Verse: If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord who could stand? For with you there is forgiveness.

O Christ, who brought all things into existence
from nothing, and with ineffable wisdom gave to each one to
accomplish unerringly the goal which you laid down in the
beginning, O Saviour, Lover of humankind, as you are powerful,
bless the whole creation which you fashioned.Verse: For your
name's sake I have waited for you, O Lord; my soul has waited
for your word, my soul has hoped in the Lord.Give peace to
all the nations, Lord, and understanding in all things, so
that we may lead our life in tranquillity and always keep
the laws which you laid down for all creation for the unalterable
maintenance and government of the universe.Verse: From the
watch of dawn until the night, from the watch of dawn, let
Israel hope in the Lord. Lover of humankind, keep unharmed
the environment that clothes the earth, through which, by
your will, we who inhabit the earth live and move and have
our being, that we, your unworthy suppliants, may be delivered
from destruction and ruin.Verse: For with the Lord there is
mercy, and with him abundant redemption, and he will redeem
Israel from all his iniquities.Fence round the whole creation,
O Christ Saviour, with the mighty strength of your love for
humankind, and deliver the earth we inhabit from the corruption
which threatens it; for we, your servants, have set our hopes
on you.Verse: Praise the Lord all nations! extol him all peoples!

Put an end, O Saviour, to the evil designs
which are being devised against us by senseless intent, and
turn aside from the earth every destructive action of the
works ofhuman hands which contrive corruption leading to perdition.

Verse: For great is his mercy to us, and
the truth of the Lord endures for ever.

O Lord, who wraps creation in clouds, as
godly David sang, watch over the environment of the earth,
which you created from the beginning for the preservation
of mortals, and give us the breath of the winds and the flow
of waters.

Tone 6

Glory be to the Father, to the Son and
to the Holy Spirit.

Almighty God, who created all things with
wisdom and who watches over and guides them by your all-powerful
hand, grant well-being that all creation may prosper and remain
unharmed by hostile elements; for you, Master, commanded that
the works ofyour hands should remain unshaken until the ends
of the age; for you spoke and they came into being and they
receive from you mercy for the turning away of all harm, and
for the salvation of the human race which glorifies your name
which is praised above all.

Now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Who will not call you blessed, all-holy
Virgin? Who will not hymn your child-birth without labour?
For the only-begotten Son, who shone from the Father beyond
time, came forth from you pure Maiden, ineffably incarnate.
By nature he became man for our sakes, not divided in a duality
of persons, but known without confusion in a duality of natures.
O honoured and all-blessed, implore him to have mercy on our
souls.

(D) Wisdom. Let us attend.

O Jesus Christ, the joyful Light of the
holy glory, of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father!
Now that we have come to the setting of the sun, and behold
the evening light, we sing in praise to God the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. For you are worthy to be praised at every
hour with songs of worship, O Son of God, giver of life. Wherefore
the world doth glorify you.

(P) Wisdom.

(R) The Reading is from Leviticus

The Lord spoke to the children of Israel
saying: If you walk in my ordinances and keep my commandments
and do them, I will give you rain in its season and the earth
will give its produce and the trees of the plains their fruit.
And your threshing time will overtake the vintage, and the
vintage will overtake the sowing. And you will eat your bread
to the full and dwell in safety on your land. And no one shall
make you afraid; and I will destroy the evil before you. And
five of you will pursue a hundred and a hundred of you will
pursue tens of thousands. And I will look upon you and bless
you and make you increase and multiply and I will establish
my covenant with you. And you will eat what is old and very
old, and bring out the old to make way for the new. And I
will set my tabernacle among you and my soul shall not abhor
you; and I will walk among you; and I will be your God and
you shall be my people. But if you will not listen to me,
nor observe these ordinances of mine, but disobey them, and
if your soul loathes my judgements, so that you do not keep
all my commandments, I in turn will do thus to you: I will
bring distress upon you, and you will sow your seed in vain
and your enemies will devour your labours. And I will set
my face against you and you will fall before your foes and
they will pursue you and you will flee though no one pursues
you; and I will smash the arrogance of your pride. And I will
make the heaven like iron for you and your earth like solid
bronze. And your strength will be in vain and your land will
not give its fruit, and the trees of the field will not give
their fruit. And I will send the wild beasts of the earth
against you, and they will consume your cattle, and the sword
will come against you and make you few in number. And your
land will be desert and your farms will be desert; because
you have walked against me crookedly, and I will walk against
you with crooked rage, says the Lord God, the Holy One of
Israel.

(P) Wisdom.

(R) The Reading is from the prophecy of
Isaiah

Look down, Lord, from heaven and see, from
your holy house and your glory. Where is the abundance of
your mercy and of your acts of pity, that you have withheld
yourself from us? For you are our Father, because Abraham
has not known us, nor Israel acknowledged us. But do you Lord,
our Father, deliver us; from the beginning your name is upon
as. Why have you made us wander from your way, Lord? Why have
you hardened our hearts not to fear you? Return for the sake
of your servants, for the sake of the tribes that are your
heritage, that for a little while we may inherit your holy
mountain. Our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary, we
have become as at the beginning when you did not rule over
us, nor had your name been invoked upon us. If you open the
heaven, trembling from you will seize the mountains and they
will melt as wax melts before the fire, and fire will burn
up your adversaries, and your name will be manifest among
your adversaries; nations will be troubled at your presence.
When you do glorious deeds, trembling from you will seize
the mountains. From eternity we have not heard, nor have our
eyes seen any God but you. And your works are true, and you
will perform mercy for those who wait for you. For mercy will
meet with those who do right and remember your ways. And now,
Lord, you are our Father; while we are clay and you are our
Fashioner; we are all the work of your hands. Do not be exceedingly
angry with us, Lord, and do not remember our sins for ever.
And now, look upon us, Lord, because we are all your people.

(P) Wisdom.

(R) The Reading is from the Prophecy of
Jeremiah.

Thus says the Lord: I have remembered the
mercy of your youth and the love of your marriage, of your
following the Holy One of Israel, says the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel. To the Lord was the beginning of his produce.
All those who devoured him will offend and evils will come
upon them, says the Lord. Hear the word of the Lord, house
of Jacob, and every family of the house of Israel. Thus says
the Lord: What offence did your fathers find in me, that they
revolted far from me and went after vanities and became vain?
And they did not say: Where is the Lord who brought us up
out of the Land of Egypt, who guided us in the wilderness,
in a boundless and trackless land, without water or fruit,
and in the shadow of death, in a land through which no man
had passed, nor had any son of man dwelt there? And I led
you to Carmel to eat its fruits and its good things; and you
went in and you defiled my land and made my inheritance an
abomination. The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? And
those who ding to the law did not know me, and the shepherds
acted impiously towards me; and the prophets prophesied Baal
and went after that which does not profit. Therefore I will
be brought to trial before you again, says the Lord; and I
will be brought to trial before your children's children.
Cross to the islands of Kittim and look; and to Kedar and
send and observe carefully, and see if such things have been
done; if the nations will change their gods, though they are
no gods. But my people have changed their glory for something
from which they will gain nothing. Heaven was amazed at this
and trembled exceedingly, says the Lord.(D) Let us say with
all our soul and with all our mind, let us say.(A) Lord have
mercy.(D) O Lord almighty, the God of our fathers, we pray
you, hear and have mercy.(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) Have mercy upon us, O God, according
to your great mercy, we pray you, hear and have mercy.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(D) Again we pray for our Metropolitan
/ Archbishop / Bishop (N), for the priests, deacons, and all
other clergy; and for all our brethren in Christ.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(D) Again we pray for the civil authorities,
and for our armed forces everywhere.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(D) Again we pray for the blessed and ever-memorable
holy Orthodox patriarchs; and for the blessed and ever-memorable
founders of this holy house; and for all our fathers and brethren,
the Orthodox departed this life before us, who here and in
all the world lie asleep in the Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(D) Again we pray for mercy, life, peace,
health, salvation, and visitation for the servants of God
that lie ill, and for the pardon and remission of their sins.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(D) Again we pray for those who bring offerings
and do good works in this holy and all-venerable house; for
those who labour and those who sing; and for all the people
here present, who await your great and rich mercy.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(P) For you are a merciful God, and love
humankind, and to you we ascribe glory, to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the
ages of ages.

(A) Amen.(A) Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep
us this evening without sin. Blessed are you O Lord, God of
our fathers, and praised and glorified is your name for ever.
Amen. Let your mercy come upon us, O Lord, even as we have
set our hope on you, Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your
statutes. Blessed are you, O Master, make me to understand
your statutes. Blessed are you, O Holy one, enlighten me with
your statutes. Your mercy, O Lord, is for ever. Do not overlook
the works of your hands. To you belong praise; to you is due
song; to you is due glory; to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit now and ever, and to the ages of ages,
Amen.

(D) Let us complete our evening prayer
to the Lord.

(A) Lord have mercy.

(D) For our deliverance from all affliction,
wrath, danger and distress, let us pray to the Lord.

(D) For a perfect, holy, peaceful, and
sinless evening, let us ask the Lord.

(A) Grant this O Lord.

(D) For an angel of peace, a faithful guide,
a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask the Lord.

(A) Grant this O Lord.

(D) For forgiveness and remission of our
sins and transgressions, let us ask the Lord.

(A) Grant this O Lord.

(D) For all that is good and beneficial
to our souls, and for peace in the world, let us ask the Lord.

(A) Grant this O Lord.

(D) For the completion of our lives in
peace and repentence, let us ask the Lord.

(A) Grant this O Lord.

(D) For a Christian end to our lives, peaceful,
without shame and suffering, and for a good account before
the awesome judgement seat of Christ, let us ask the Lord.

(A) Grant this O Lord.

(D) Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed,
and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and ever virgin Mary,
with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another
and our whole life to Christ our God.

(A) To You O Lord.

(P) For you are a good God who loves humankind,
and to you we send up glory; to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.

(A) Amen.

(B) Peace be with all.

(A) And with your spirit.

(D) Let us bow our heads to the Lord.

(A) To You O Lord.

(P) May the might of your kingdom be blessed
and glorified; of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.(A) Amen.(Tone
1)O Lord, who created the universe at the beginning and gave
to each thing his own rank, do not despise the works of your
hands, but with an eye of mercy look from heaven upon this
vine and restore it according to your will, turning aside
from it every purpose that brings corruption and every destroyer;
for you are our Shepherd and Deliverer and Saviour and from
you we receive help in mercy and acts of compassion, as we
glorify you, O Master.

Tone 2

O Lord and Master who fenced about the
domain of the earth and made it sure with an enveloping band,
deliver its whole structure from harm and disaster; for you
are a treasury of strength and the source of life, and all
things minister and are subject to your will as your servants,
Lord. And so grant us your mercies and turn away from us every
disaster, and save our souls as you love humankind.

Tone 3

Threats and scourges and destruction hang
over us, Lord, because of the multitude of our transgressions;
for we have sinned and transgressed and gone far from you,
and we are affected and afflicted by dire perils; but deliver
us, Lord from dangers that beset us, and keep the whole structure
of the earth unharmed, granting equable breaths of wind and
ever-flowing springs ofwater for our safe-keeping and salvation,
O Lover of humankind.

Tone 4

Glory to the Father to the Son and to the
Holy Spirit.

O Lord, who holds the circle of the earth
and establishes its foundations, as the Prophet says, accept
our suppliant entreaties, as our guardian and protector and
Saviour; for we are your people and the sheep of your pasture
and by your infinite mercy we shall be delivered from expected
dangers. Do not then utterly destroy us, Master, but may your
goodness conquer the mulitude of our offences, that we may
glorify the ocean of your acts of pity.

Now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
Amen

From dangers ofevery kind protect your
servants, blessed Mother of God, that we may glorify you,
the hope of our souls.

The Lity

(D) Have mercy upon us, O God, according
to your great mercy, we pray you hear and have mercy.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(D) Again we pray for all those responsible
for our churches and communities, and for all brothers and
sisters in Christ, and for every Christian soul afflicted
and weary, in need of God's mercies and help; for the protection
of this city and those who dwell in it; for the peace of the
whole world; for the well-being of the holy churches of God;
for the servants of God here present; for the salvation and
help of all who labour and serve; for those who travel; for
the healing of the sick; for the repose, refreshment and blessed
memory of and forgiveness of sins of all who have gone to
rest before and lie here and everywhere; for the deliverance
of captives and refugees, let us say:

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.Again we pray that God will keep this city and
every city and country from famine, pestilence, earthquake,
flood, fire, pollution, war and civil strife, and that our
good God who loves humanity will be gracious and merciful
and deliver us from his righteous chastisement which impends
against us, and have mercy on its.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(D) Again we pray that the Lord God hear
the prayer of us sinners and have mercy on us.'

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(B) Hear us, O God our Saviour, the hope
of all the ends of the earth, and of those who are far off
upon the sea; and be gracious, be gracious, O Master, unto
us sinners and have mercy on us.

(A) Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy.

(D) For you are a merciful God who loves
humanity and all your creation, and unto you do we give glory,
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now
and ever and unto ages of ages.

(A) Amen.

(B) Peace be to all.

(A) And with your spirit.

(D) Let us pray to the Lord.

(B) Lord, Jesus Christ our God, who blessed
the five loaves in the wilderness, and from them five thousand
were fed, bless also these loaves, this oil, this wine and
all the fruits of the earth, and multiply them in this city
and everywhere in your world; sanctify your faithful who will
receive them.For you are the One who blesses and feeds and
sanctifies all creation, O Christ our God, and to you we give
glory, together with your eternal Father, and your all-holy,
good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages
of ages. Amen.Verse: The rich have become poor and hungry;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Tone 5

Merciful God, who loves humankind, look
with an eye of compassion upon the works of your hands and
set free the expanse of the atmosphere from dread destruction
and death-dealing emissions and every poisonous pollution,
through which death and danger threaten. Take pity then on
what you have fashioned and give to all prudence not to act
senselessly, the result of which is corruption, granting to
all pardon and salvation and divine mercy.Verse: With my voice
I cried to the Lord, and he heard me from his holy mountain.Accept,
O Saviour, the entreaties of your Mother, which she offers
for all creation, and the supplications of all your Saints.
Grant to all your mercies, and keep unharmed the firmament
which you spread out from the beginning with wisdom, Lord,
and brought into being for the benefit of mortals. Keep undamaged,
O Word, the whole environment which girds the earth from harmful
influences, granting to all pardon and salvation and great
mercy.Verse: When I called you hearkened to me, O God of my
justice, in all affliction you set me at large.With humility
of our soul we entreat you, Lord, and we fall down before
you: At your command deliver the earth on which we dwell from
every harm and from harsh ruin, and speedily avert from it
and abolish by your will destructive emanations and pour out
the fresh dew of life-sustaining air. Fence about the whole
enclosure of the environment, Master and Saviour, with your
mighty power, granting to all pardon and salvation and divine
mercy.Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy
Spirit. Now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.Through
compassionate pity, O Word, you took another form, refashioned
corrupted nature and brought it back to incorruption; and
now we beseech you, yield to the supplications of your most
pure Mother and grant stability to the inhabited world and
well-being to all creation and deliverance from perils for
the salvation for the salvation of our souls.

(C) Lord, now let your servant depart in
peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen your
salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all
peoples; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of
your people Israel.

(A) Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal,
have mercy on us. (3 times) Glory to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages
of ages. Amen. Most Holy Trinity, have mercy upon us. O Lord,
cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities.
O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for thy Name's
sake.Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.Our Father, Who
art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from the evil one.

(P) For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.

(C) Amen.

Tone 4

(C) Lord and Saviour, who as God brought
all things into being by a word, establishing laws and governing
them unerringly to your glory, keep secure and unharmed, at
the prayers of the Mother of God, all the elements which hold
the earth together, and save the universe.Glory to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and
to the ages of ages. Amen.The mystery hidden from all eternity
and unknown to Angels has been revealed to those on earth
through you, O Mother of God: God being made flesh in a union
without confusion, and willingly accepting the Cross for us,
though which he raised the first-formed man and saved our
souls from death.

(D) Let us pray to the Lord

(A) Lord have mercy.

(B) The blessing of the Lord, through his
grace and loving-kindness, be upon you always, now and ever,
and to the ages of ages.

(A) Amen.

(P) Wisdom.

(C) Master give the blessing.

(B) Blessed be He that Is, even Christ
our God, always, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.

(C) More honourable than the Cherubim,
incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, who undefiled
gave birth to God the Word, true Mother of God, we magnify
you.

(P) Glory to you, O Christ our God, our
sure hope, glory to you.

(C) Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of
ages. Amen.

Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy. Master, give the blessing.

(P) May Christ our true God, as a good,
loving, and merciful God, have mercy upon us and save us,
through the intercessions of His most pure and holy Mother;
the power of the precious and life-giving cross; the protection
of the honourable, bodiless powers of heaven, the supplications
of the honourable, glorious prophet and forerunner John the
Baptist; the holy, glorious and praiseworthy apostles; the
holy, glorious and triumphant martyrs, the holy and righteous
ancestors Joachim and Anna; Saint (N.) whose memory we commemorate
today, and all the saints, for he is good and loves humankind.

(A) Amen

(P) Through the prayers of our holy fathers,
Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us.